Bill Guan, the chief financial officer of Epoch Times, a well-known conservative media outlet, has found himself in serious trouble. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has accused him of being involved in a complicated plan to launder a massive $67 million using cryptocurrency.
The allegations against Guan focus on his supposed leadership of Epoch’s “Make Money Online” team, which operated internationally from around 2020 to May 2024. The DoJ claims that, under Guan’s direction, team members used cryptocurrency to knowingly handle tens of millions of dollars in illegal funds.
These funds allegedly included money obtained fraudulently from unemployment insurance benefits, which were loaded onto prepaid debit cards in large quantities.
According to the DoJ, the next step in the scheme involved transferring these unlawfully obtained funds through a specific cryptocurrency platform. There, they were supposedly converted into various cryptocurrencies at a significant discount.Â
Guan and his team then allegedly laundered this converted money through different channels, including bank accounts linked to Epoch Times, Guan’s personal bank accounts, and his cryptocurrency assets. Additionally, team members are said to have resorted to identity theft to open accounts and further hide the origins of the funds.
Now, Guan faces severe charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud. Each money laundering charge could lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years, while each bank fraud charge could result in up to 30 years of imprisonment, according to the indictment.
The suspicions initially arose when investigators noticed Epoch’s revenue had soared by a staggering 410% in a year, jumping from $15 million to $62 million. Guan’s explanation that this increase was due to “donations” only raised more questions, ultimately leading to the uncovering of the alleged illegal activity.
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